Area of activity: social integration
In order to improve the involvement in society of people with an immigrant background, the nationwide integration programme is concentrating particularly on migrant organisations and young people.
The current areas of emphasis in the nationwide integration programme in the area of social integration are:
- strengthening migrant organisations in their role as stakeholders in supporting integration
- strengthening young people’s involvement in society: Intercultural openness of youth association work.
Strengthening migrant organisations
Migrant organisations combine commitment, experience of migration and skills in integration work in a local context. They can often reach people with an immigrant background more easily. Therefore they are increasingly in demand as experts, being called upon by the government, Länder, local authorities and private providers.
However, only a few migrant organisations have full-time structures – often, therefore, they cannot meet the growing demands that are being made of them.
In order to help migrant organisations to incorporate their specific skills into integration support more effectively and more systematically, the following aspects have been looked at as part of the nationwide integration programme:
- setting up and expanding sustainable structures for migration organisations’ integration work
- making the work of associations more professional
- supporting civic involvement in and through migrant organisations
- intercultural openness of society.
Strengthening young people's involvement in society: Intercultural openness of youth association work
Children's and youth associations provide the opportunity to participate in social processes. They provide places for living and learning together and are important places for children and young people – with and without an immigrant background – to learn and socialise.
In theory, all children and young people in Germany have the same opportunities to access youth association programmes. However, in practice, there are considerable barriers to overcome for young people with an immigrant background. There is therefore a huge challenge in achieving intercultural openness in youth work organised by associations. This relates to supporting the participation of children and young people with an immigrant background in youth associations. It is also a question of integrating associations of young migrants into the structures of youth association work.
Recommendations for action in the area of social integration
In conjunction with many experts – representatives of migrant organisations and youth associations in particular – the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees produced recommendations on these subjects, which were published in the autumn of 2010.
